Tory leader gets on her bike to back John

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson toured several local knitwear factories on Wednesday and also presented birthday boy John Lamont with a cake.

Ms Davidson then joined the local MSP on the Westminster election campaign trail in what Mr Lamont is calling a “neck and neck” race between himself and the SNP’s Calum Kerr.

The pair toured Hawick Knitwear, Johntons of Elgin and Cashmere.

But before setting off around town, Ms Davidson presented the 39-year-old MSP with a birthday cake at Hawick Knitwear before working off the calories with a tandem bike ride.

This was Ms Davidson’s second visit to Hawick in the past few months and follows a flying visit to the town and Hawick Rugby Club of Prime Minister David Cameron.

The trip was organised to show Scottish Conservative support for small firms and the Tories are now calling for better infrastructure and lower jobs taxes to help such firms go on and do even better in the next five years.

Speaking during Wednesday’s visit, Ms Davidson said: “The textile industry is important in the Borders, and it was great to visit a number of mills in Hawick today.

“I was impressed by the work that’s going on to bring through the next generation of workers through in-house modern apprenticeships.

“Businesses know that to thrive, they have to invest in their workforce.

“The Scottish Conservatives support expansion of the apprenticeship programme to get more young people into industries like textiles, and are keen to support Scottish manufacturers exporting abroad.”

John Lamont said: “I was delighted to welcome Ruth to Hawick. This is an area proud of its textiles industry.

“All the staff work extremely hard and the mills do wonders for the local economy. We want this to continue and we’re the only party that can make that happen.

“A vote for the Scottish Conservatives - is a vote for a growing economy and jobs market.”

And Mr Lamont, who was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2007 added: “I am knocking on over 3,000 doors per week at the moment. Voting patterns in the Borders have changed and the polls are suggesting it is neck and neck between us and the SNP.”

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